JamMan Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Straightforward question: Should the pit get its own judge? Of course, with the budget like it is, maybe use the extra judge for regionals and Finals week. Or maybe use the 2nd, "ensemble", judge. But it's getting ridiculous to see a 14+ person section with its own separate writer and several instructors just get lumped in with ~20 people who only play 3 or 4 different instruments. Now, in the beginning of the season, the drum judge does spend a lot of time around the pit, as he hasn't learned the drill yet and can't venture out to the field. But as the season goes on, the comments become more and more battery-oriented. Here's a rough idea of what the field drum judge has to do: Beginning: Watch pit intro. See if first major attack lines up. Head out to field for remainder of opener. Main piece of the 1st half: Pick up every piece of dirt in the battery while running around the field. Ballad: Watch the pit. Percussion feature: Stand behind the pit, but watch the drumline. Ending: Run around with the battery. This optimizes his efficiency in judging, and I can't think of a better way for him to do it. But it doesn't set him up to tech the really REALLY nuanced things in the pit (especially during fast/loud parts). As a result, drum tapes only seem to talk about three things: back-to-front timing (including all pit instruments), side-to-side timing (big drums only) and timpani tuning. Things like mallet selection do get talked about, but during critique and only if the choice is a huge bother. When's the last time a judge talked about marimba to marimba timing during a 12-bar 16th-note run? I've never heard one. How often do these runs get played sloppily? All. The. Time. Is that reflected in the judges' sheets? No, because they have too much to cover. I guess I'm just saying it's the system. These judges are very well-versed in all percussive instruments (usually ) and it's unfortunate they have to spread their expertise so thin for so long. Your thoughts? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olddawg Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 ThIs is a great topic and something I have thought myself. The judge could be in the box, as everything is amped now--could also be the person calling out electronic balance (who else is doing it?). Given the skill-set of today's fronts, it is really a shame that much of it may go unjudged (same potentially goes for battery; of course, this argument could be carried out to apply to all brass sections as well). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaseyW Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yes, I agree. Though I'm a brass guy, every drum tape I've ever heard was focused around the drum line. The most I've heard about the pit from drum judges was about the timing between the drumline and the front ensemble. Example: "drumline drumline drumline..........HEAVY BREATHING...drumline drumline drumline......MORE HEAVY BREATHING....some phasing issues between the front ensemble and battery............HEAVY BREATHING HEAVY BREATHING MORE HEAVY BREATHING.....AWESOME JOB DRUMLINE..................HEAVY BREATHING......that was nice pit...........HEAVY BREATHING.......drumline drumline drumline...............(the show ends)that was an excellent job overall drumline, as soon as your work out these issues you'll be great by the end of the season. Uhhhhhh pit, some timeing issues......okay bye." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer5485 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yes, agree. I've been waiting for someone to bring this up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamMan Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 ThIs is a great topic and something I have thought myself. The judge could be in the box, as everything is amped now--could also be the person calling out electronic balance (who else is doing it?). Given the skill-set of today's fronts, it is really a shame that much of it may go unjudged (same potentially goes for battery; of course, this argument could be carried out to apply to all brass sections as well). Well, a lot of the "fuzz" can only be picked up (or just picked up on) from a close distance. It's the high frequency of notes that warrants the judges' proximity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 No, but bring back the percussion judge in the box. That way the entire percussion ensemble is being judged and how they all fit together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaseyW Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 No, but bring back the percussion judge in the box. That way the entire percussion ensemble is being judged and how they all fit together. But how will they listen to the judges clean beats yo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 No, but bring back the percussion judge in the box. That way the entire percussion ensemble is being judged and how they all fit together. That's what the music ensemble judge is for. Unfortunately, as has been stated many times... that doesn't always happen depending on if the judge is a brass guy or a drum guy. In a perfect world we would have a brass and perc judge on the field, and a brass and perc judge in the box. And then I think you could lump music ensemble into the GE music category. Or keep the ensemble judge... But there is no money for any of this! Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olddawg Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 1342488773[/url]' post='3175012']Well, a lot of the "fuzz" can only be picked up (or just picked up on) from a close distance. It's the high frequency of notes that warrants the judges' proximity. I was referring to the dedicated pit judge. Battery judge on the field makes sense--judging battery from the box would lead, imo, to less intricate and nuanced arrangement (why write/play what's unheard or unreadable?). Former percussion two judge was an awesome idea, as others have stated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) I was referring to the dedicated pit judge. Battery judge on the field makes sense--judging battery from the box would lead, imo, to less intricate and nuanced arrangement (why write/play what's unheard or unreadable?). Former percussion two judge was an awesome idea, as others have stated. In a drum corps rehearsal you have the caption heads in the box and all the other staff on the field. I assume that what the audience sees and hears should have more of influence in scores than what a judge on the ground hears, after all no one enjoys a show standing in the middle of the field. There is value in both but having more judges in the box I think can give more credit to what the top notch caption heads work on in rehearsal... And that's "what the corps looks and sounds like from afar." But I think the judges we have on the field right now are fine just adding more in the box. Edited July 17, 2012 by charlie1223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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